Five Short Blasts Kamberri for Canberra International Music Festival, 2025 with GoBoat Canberra on Lake Burley Griffin.
https://cimf.org.au/shows/five-short-blasts/
An incredible undertaking.
In the early morning, when the wind drops, when the waters of Lake Burley Griffin that now submerge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri plain are still, we head out on the water in a small flotilla to listen.
Five Short Blasts – the name of the signal known instantly to mariners as an expression of uncertainty or alarm – has surfaced the sounds and stories of oceans, ports and rivers through major festivals in Melbourne, Hamburg, Perth and Prague.
As a centerpiece of the 2025 Canberra International Music Festival in the 60th anniversary year of Lake Burley Griffin, Five Short Blasts combines live performance, new composition and simulcast radio in an intimate one-hour experience on electric boats.
Surprise encounters echo across the lake in a waterborne orchestration of space, music and human spirit. Marked by the enduring reality of the original cultures of this place, and by the continual and dynamic change and negotiation that occurs within, across and beyond these captured waters, Five Short Blasts is made as a multi-faceted encounter with this age-old place, and the people whose lives unfold around its constructed waters.
Created by Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey with local water and sound communities including Judith Abercromby, Tanya Boag, Bradley Djirabidj Bell, Tony Birch, Gaël Chauvin, Flora Carbo, Laura Day, Joel Dreezer, Andrew Fraser, Gabriel Fromyhr, Bindi Green, Craig Greening, Erwan Hamon, Chloe Hobbs, Jack Hobbs, Minh Le Hoang, Sean Hodgman, Alec Hunter, Niki Johnston, Guénolé Keravec, Ellen Kirkwood, Dr Chris Latham, Thomas Laue, John Mackey, Kaylie Melville, Veronica Milroy, Enora Morice, Dr Verity Normington, National Capital Authority, Christopher Sainsbury, Nicole Smede, David Tyndall, Eugene Ughetti, Sally Whitwell, David Wright and GoBoat Canberra.
Thanks to everyone for the conversations, the compositions, and the performances.
Thank you to the Rotary Club Canberra for providing access to the Rotary Peace Bell.